In the early 1930's, during The Pre-Code Era, there were a number of gangster films that came out, including Little Caesar, The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932), that were popular with audiences, and many of them were made and distributed by Warner Brothers. However, Moral Guardians, as well as American Law Enforcement, disliked these movies because they felt the movies glamorized violence and illicit behavior. So, when The Hays Code era kicked in, American Law Enforcement, especially the FBI, wanted movies that portrayed the law as the good guys, and gangsters as the bad guys. That's where movies like G Men, a 1935 movie from Warner Brothers, directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney, came in. It was the first movie of the time to call FBI agents "G men", though it was made with the same style and energy as those earlier gangster movies.
Cagney plays Brick Davis, a lawyer who has been struggling because he refuses to be an Ambulance Chaser. He's visited by Eddie, an old friend of his who's working for the Justice Department, and he asks Brick if he wants to join. Brick refuses at first, but when Eddie is killed trying to bring in a gangster, Brick changes his mind and joins the department as an FBI agent trainee, or "G man". Brick doesn't get along at first with Jeff McCord, his instructor, especially when Jeff finds out Brick is an old friend of Mac, a mob boss who was in league with Collins, one of the gangsters Jeff and his bosses are going after. However, they eventually learn to get along, especially after Brick is able to help track down Collins. Brick also becomes attracted to Jeff's sister Kay, a nurse.
This film contains examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: When Collins barges into Jean's dressing room, and says he never knocks, Jean responds, "Well, it does save getting splinters in your knuckles", which he chuckles at.
- Always Save the Girl: Even when he's in the hospital, Brick immediately leaves his hospital bed to try and save Jean, and when that fails, to save Kay.
- Anyone Can Die: Of the major characters who appear in the film, the only ones who survive by the end are Brick, Gregory, Jeff and Kay.
- Bait-and-Switch: When Jeff is taking Leggett to prison, he notices a car following him, and since mobsters have already ambushed the police before whenever they tried to arrest Leggett, he orders the driver to step on it and get to prison already. When they arrive at prison, Jeff discovers the car following them had none other than Brick, who was watching them to make sure Jeff would make it safely to prison.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Jean tells Brick she married Collins because of this.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Brick and Kay have this with each other at first, until she gradually warms up to him.
- Bound and Gagged: After Kay is kidnapped by Collins, she ends up this way.
- Crash-Into Hello: Brick meets Kay this way when he pushes open a door, that she's on the other side of, so hard it knocks her down.
- Deep Cover Agent: When Jeff finds out about Brick's history with Mac, as well as the fact the two of them met each other on a train, he accuses Brick of being this. Brick manages to convince him otherwise.
- Establishing Character Moment: Crosses over with Everyone Has Standards - when, at the beginning of the movie, a ward boss approaches Brick about defending a man charged with beating a woman over the head with a gun, which would set Brick up for life if he agreed to defend the man, Brick's response is to not only refuse him, but throw the man physically out of his office. This not only shows Brick has a moral code, but also that just because James Cagney is playing someone on the side of the law, that doesn't make him any less energetic.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: A variation - Mac has been a father figure for Brick, paying for his law school, and even encouraging Brick when he wants to become a government agent.
- Expy: Gregory, Jeff's boss, is a stand-in for J. Edgar Hoover, what with his speeches to the government about getting more funds and jurisdiction for his agency, and tougher laws against criminals.
- Good Bad Girl: Jean is like this - though she ends up marrying Collins, she still helps Brick, which ends up getting her killed.
- Heroic Second Wind: Brick is in a hospital after being shot by Collins, until Jean gets mortally wounded by Collins while trying to call Brick to tip him off. This is enough to get Brick out of bed.
- It's Personal: Why Brick and Jeff are both after Collins, even before he kidnaps Kay, as Collins killed Eddie.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When Jean, who has feelings for Brick, visits Brick at the hospital, and she sees the way Brick and Kay are looking at each other, she tells Brick she's leaving. Later, after Kay is kidnapped, she tries to warn Brick about it.
- It also happens earlier in the film, when Jean is at the club when Brick tells her he's leaving to join the Justice Department. She clearly wants him to stay, but realizes he's doing what he wants to do, so she lets him go.
- Meaningful Echo: Jean's line to Brick, "There's no rule a G-man can't kiss an old friend goodbye." The first time she says it is when Brick tells her he's joining the Justice Department, while the second time is when she's dying.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Jeff feels this way about Brick and Kay at first, but then it's averted when he realizes how much they like each other.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Though Brick's first name is James, everyone calls him Brick.
- Relative Error: Brick is immediately attracted to Kay, but frowns at first when she greets Jeff enthusiastically and kisses him. Then when Jeff introduces Kay as his sister to Hugh, Brick smiles again.
- Retirony: Mac wants to quit being a gangster and become a hotel owner. Collins and his associates, of course, have other ideas, and this ends up getting Mac killed.
- Right Behind Me: When Jeff, upset about having to be stuck teaching trainees instead of going after Eddie's killers, is bitching about this to Hugh, while unaware Brick is behind them:Jeff Listen to this - Mr. James Davis, Doctor of Law, Doctor of Philosophy, Phi Beta Kappa. Now isn't that sweet! Phi Beta Kappa!
Brick: What's yours - "Flatfoot-a-Coppa"? - Ripped from the Headlines: The scene where a bunch of gangsters rescue Leggett at the train station is based on the "Kansas City Massacre
'', which led to stricter crime laws (as well as allowing FBI agents to carry firearms), while the shootout at the hotel between the FBI and Collins and his men is based on a gun battle between the FBI and John Dillinger and "Baby Face" Nelson. - Running Gag: Whenever Jeff compliments Brick to someone else, he immediately follows that with, "But don't tell him I said so!"
- Sacrificial Lion: Eddie is this, as it's his death that prompts Brick to quit being a lawyer and become a G-man.
- Saying Too Much: When Brick is questioning Jean, she admits to marrying Collins (see Because You Were Nice to Me above), and also not wanting Mac to know about it, though she guesses Collins will tell him. The last part is what makes Davis realize Collins is holed up at Mac's hotel, even though Jean frantically tries to deny it.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Brick and Jeff don't get along with each other at first, but eventually learn to work with each other, as well as like and respect each other.
